mikebv

Birmingham should have been allowed to ride in tier 2, on Mondays... A complete waste of time, money, and credibility for the league itself, allowing/making them ride in tier 1...

I came back to the sport when the Aces went to Kirky Lane in 88, and remember paying either £6.50 or £7 to get in... It went up to £8 within a couple of years! A huge inflation busting % from the initial cost I paid.. This for me was the start of the "big" decline in attendances as, year after year, as disillusioned fans stopped going, the promoters, (instead of doing some research as to why their crowds were dropping), started to offset the drop in income by more inflation busting annual increases... The result being the vicious cycle of less fans turning up, more increases, less fans turning up, more increases, less fans turning up, etc etc etc.. Even today, no research is done as to why fans (many of whom still passionately follow the sport), don't attend.. Many clubs have more followers on their Facebook pages than visit the track each meeting, (their own fans, not generic fans of other clubs who "join in").. With some having several thousand than actually turn up to watch.. Social Media is a perfect mechanic to gain some feedback and then take action to rectify the issues and move forwards.. It will never get used...

But! But! But!.... It's about winning three of the most prestigious, financially rewarding, and publicity gaining, sporting titles you could ever hope to win in any sport in the UK!!!!! It's definitely not about growing the sport in UK, and making the international team so successful that the wider mainstream media take notice of it, (like they did when "England" consistently ruled the roost and like EVERY other sport, that isnt football, focuses on to get their slice of the publicity left that football hasn't used up)... And it's certainly not about having plenty of riders to fill in for absent riders without resorting to using credibility destroying guests, (because they are a "necessary evil" don't you know?) .. ... No, far better to keep flying in the Speedway equivalent of a dozen and more "Carlos Kickabout's" with all of them making it very, very clear, that you are the (at best), third of their priorities, behind Poland and their relevant home nation's league... As you say, madness.... But, not surprising...

The sport does have "more than enough" of a following of those who "love it", yet what it never does is target market them.. Why do those who turn up (every year) at tracks on BH's then sometimes never attend again that year? And, more importantly, who are they? The club's spend nothing to directly market their product to individuals who actually purchase their product "sometimes", or even "semi regularly", yet spend millions on riders, who, clearly, don't put many extra bums on seats by their attendance.. You only have to have an email or a mobile number to see how businesses try to keep punters coming back, as you get bombarded with "special offers" once you have purchased something off them.. Speedway in the UK would be far more successful than currently if it just got those who do know about it, actively follow the sport on TV, and also attend occasionally, to make more visits.. You do that by using the information your punters provide and then target them with specific personal offers to try and attract them to attend.. Much easier than expecting 500 "newbies" to suddenly attend is to get 500 "non regulars" to attend with some inducements, and, as we know, the bigger the crowd, the bigger the atmosphere, meaning, potentially, the more chance of crowd levels consistently improving, as the virtuous circle gets turning.. An example is the BF. The crowd must have been around 2000 down on the previous year. Therefore all those who didn't attend, but did the year before, should by now have had an email offering them 15% off next years event.. Speedway doesn't need loads of "new fans", it just needs to get more repeat visits from those who actually do follow it.... To do that however, you need a marketing strategy fit for the IT generation of 2025...

If the Colts were "the only ticket in town" then their crowds would be up around 1000, and maybe more, I would suggest .. It is indeed good family value but, for many, that is on top of already paying out for watching the Aces, either the week prior or the week after... As for newbies? The "World Famous Belle Vue Aces" would hardly get a recognition nod door to door in Gorton, Longsight, Levenshulme, and City Centre Manchester, therefore not much chance of the Colts being known in areas "on the doorstep"... You only need to see the response when fans get asked to pay just six quid more to watch a double header after the main event featuring their NDL team to see how little regard and interest so many with a team in tier 1 and 2 have in "junior speedway".. As I said, maybe if that was the only speedway they had, many would attend...?

He wants everyone to know so any lapsed fans may go along for a few final "fixes" before they lose the sport forever in their city... And, obviously, each tezm will be attending for the last time at some point, so that again should bring an away following in excess of what a normal meeting would bring... It may also get some local media traction and they could then gauge the level of response so as to ascertain if there is any hope for the sport going forward in Birmingham.. A sensible time to call it from a business perspective...

And too many will only stay at a certain level even when their fanbase numbers suggest they financially cannot hope to compete with other teams in the league they want to be in.... Meaning that their very presence in that league lowers the standard of it, and create's dozens of "mis-matches", which does nothing but lowering its already unsuitable level of fanbase, plus, adversely impacts the attendances at other tracks when they race there... What a plan!!!!

And the way Poland pay their riders, it may not be just one meeting's worth of money... If he has been given some signing on money (often used for getting the speed required in the riders equipment), that too could need paying back for missing their fixtures...

Ipswich traditionally always get a big crowd on BH's, (particularly when the weather is good). I remember the GF crowds were often the highest in the UK for the whole of the season... The issue they have, like all other tracks, is maintaining something similar the next meeting, let alone the rest of the season.. Where do all these disappear to? And why?

Spot on... And teenagers don't want to be seen out where their Dad and even their Grandad goes... They also "hunt in packs", so let them in for free, as many mates as they can muster, until they leave school, and see if any stay on and pay as adults... There are hardly any there now, so almost zero to be lossed...

It's all very "Mickey Mouse" isn't it? But, to be fair, that is pretty much Speedway's level in the UK, and has been for several decades.. Far too late now to change anything... They missed a huge trick when coming out of lockdown to reposition the sport with a fit for purpose operating model and even maybe a salary cap... Instead. They chose to carry on doing the same failing nonsense that clearly wasn't working given the dwindling crowds year on year.... It's just "tick, tock, tick tock" for UK Speedway, unless anyone grabs it by the "wotsits" and directs it "off the track" to deliver the following the "raw product on the track" deserves...

But, this is where the play off system comes into its own., Hopefully, in 3 months time, both will be able to represent Ipswich in the play offs...

To be fair, that has been the same since I started watching the sport at Hyde Rd in the late sixties... Even at such a great, iconic race track, the likes of Ivan and PC would win races regularly by half the length of a straight, with the rider in fourth sometimes still not even half way around the final bend when they crossed the line... The big difference to today? You had huge crowds to share your enthusiasm with, often including at least a couple of coaches from the opposition's "official supporter's club", thus giving the meeting some atmosphere, resonance and a bit of tribalism.... Average racing doesn't appear so average when you are at "an event".. Sadly, not too many "events" exist in UK Speedway anymore... Hence the play offs get the crowds "the qualifiers" don't...

You cannot just "take someone out", like he did.. Freddie could have rode the inside line and left plenty of room for Kurtz... But instead he elected to do a " block pass", (similar to Lambert on Bewley and one many riders use), but basically got it wrong by, literally, just a few inches.. Almost a perfect pass, but sadly, for Freddie, it wasn't...

Brady No1 in the world so far....... Not a bad start to his debut season....

Terrible news if true.... How many times can he keep coming back from these horrible set backs...?

What a crap ride from Kvech.... So many riders cannot ride an inside line... They just "drift"....

Now, there is a surprise....😀...

Aim bike at Dan's leg and watch him lift it and drift out.... That is the MO for riders... I noticed Tom Brennan having the same issue on Monday several times.

True, but... If the landowner was getting £20k a night rent, 20 times a year, then, I would suggest, they would be more likely to keep their tenants on.. If Speedway had been able to keep hold of it's fan base, rather than losing tens of thousands of followers, then a 3,000 crowd would deliver around £70k a night, therefore paying a £20k rent would be a possibility... The harsh reality is developers know hardly anyone will miss their local speedway track disappearing, nor, for many, even notice it was there, never mind gone..

"Devastating news to those few hundred people"... Says it all.... Never more than a tier 2 team at best given their fanbase, yet had to get shoe horned into tier 1... I hope Nigel gets plenty of punters between now and season end, and it offsets at least some of the tremendous costs he has incurred keeping afloat a sport in a town that not enough people could be bothered to watch.. Should get plenty of away fans for their teams' last meeting ever at Perry Barr.

Maybe to get a few more punters in between now and closure? "Last chance saloon" and all that ..

To be fair, Thompson should have moved out given Brennan rode the inside line... Not a great plan to follow the same line...

Ole was right!!!!😁

The same as the first two months . ie. Just go along and watch the racing, without focusing too much on who wins and who doesn't... The beauty of the sport is two poor riders, or teams, can still deliver some great racing.... (If a promoter chooses to prepare a decent track to race on obviously)...